How Does Busy Street Impact Home Value?

[khouston]

I have been looking for a property in the loop and in the Memorial area. It seems like everytime I get excited about a property, I find out that it is on a busy street (e.g. Chimney Rock, Braeswood, Stella Link, you get the picture). How wary should I be on this issue?

I am worried about resale and value....

[kjb434]

To me, it depends on how far the house is from the street, can i here the traffic from inside, and is the back yard big enough for potential kids.

[Lowbrow]

I think also the kind of traffic is important. If it lends itself to commercial and industrial traffic alot that could be bad. Also if it is a high school drag strip (think Richmond) that could be bad.

[khouston]

Thanks.

I agree with what you both said. Bigger lot - further from the street is better. Commuter / collector streets are much better than commercial / light industrial.

It all comes down to what sort of discout is reasonable for this type of property.

[kjb434]

That is true too, you can enter a lower than asking price for the house. Find out how long the house has been on the market too, it make go for a lower price if it sat on the market a little while. If it is Chimney rock between Westhiemer and I-10, there are some beautiful homes along there. I would love to get one of those and I don't think the traffic would bother me.

[rps324]

A busy street can be a real deal-buster. There is a mod on Hillcroft that is actually a great house. The back has a lot of big sliding glass doors and if your redid the back landscaping and/or added a pool, it would look all sorts of Palm Springs-ish. But it faces Hillcroft and no one will touch it even though it is about $20k less than any other house in Maplewood. Before Jason got the Jenkins design, a lot of people were turned off because there was some traffic noise from Post Oak. I see it all the time. The good news is you can get into an area you might not otherwise be able to afford. Just remember when you go to sell, bargain price in, bargain price out.

[Parrothead]

Yes, agreed. There is a fantastic mod in my neighborhood that I would LOVE to be able to afford right now. It's gorgeous! It's listed at $250K but it's because it sits on Memorial Drive right across from the Methodist Church. It's so freaking busy there and to make a left out of the driveway I am sure is a nightmare. But it's GREAT! Fantastic date palm out in front, porte cochere, circular drive, and a beautifully landscaped yard with a pool in the back. If it were actually inside the subdivision I bet it would list for 50K more depending on the lot.

[travelguy_73]

My first home was on Willowbend, which is a collector street in the Westbury area. I can attest to the fact that it was the only way I could afford to get into a fully remodeled house in that area. The street had general neighborhood traffic, but also had a Metro bus route and during morning rush hour it could be a bit tough to get out of the driveway.

When I went to sell it back in 2001, the price was set about $30k less than equivalent homes on quieter streets. So definitely 'bargain price in, bargain price out.' There was a lot of foot traffic through the house when it first went on the market, but comments from prospective buyers made it obvious that while they all loved the house, the street was an issue. Still, the house sold for asking price to a buyer in the same situation as I was at the time--just looking to get into the area for a good price.

My advice would be to visit the street *on foot* during various times of the day (weekday/weekend) and see if it bothers you. Understand that you will never realize the same selling price as on other streets, but the rate of appreciation is generally the same.

Oh, and find out what the future plans are for the street--will it be widened? That could spell a resale disaster!